Taras M. Koval (Valter)

Taras Mykolaiovych Koval (call sign Walter) was born on August 17, 1988, in Kyiv. After graduating from secondary school, he studied at the Academy of Management in Culture and Arts. After obtaining his higher education, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and completed his compulsory military service in the 95th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade. In 2012, he completed his service and returned to civilian life. For a long time, he worked at the company "ViYar." Taras Koval's greatest passion in life was weapons and everything related to them. He was well-versed in all types of modern weaponry used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and partner countries. In his youth, he was interested in airsoft, studying tactics and strategies of combat. After the war began in 2014, he participated in the Anti-Terrorist Operation in Eastern Ukraine as part of his native brigade. He went to war voluntarily—he was faithful to the oath he took during his service and the laws of the airborne troops. He did not warn his family and left a letter on the table. At the end of October and the beginning of November 2014, together with his comrades, he held the defense of the new terminal at Donetsk Airport for ten days, serving as a sniper. In the fall of 2015, he led a convoy to Donetsk Airport, served as a gunner, and drove an armored personnel carrier called "Swallow." After demobilization, he signed a contract and served in the special unit of the State Border Guard Service "DOZOR." He served in the Municipal Guard of Kyiv. In 2017, he enrolled at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, studying law in the part-time department. With the onset of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, as he was in the first line of operational reserve, he returned to service in the 95th Brigade and was at the front. Under his command, the unit successfully repelled enemy attacks near the villages of Motyzhyn and Osikove in the Kyiv region, destroying an enemy column and inflicting significant losses on the enemy. At the end of March 2022, the unit was redeployed to the Kharkiv direction. Taras Koval was killed on March 29, 2022, in the village of Sukha Kamianka in the Izium district of Kharkiv region. The circumstances and place of his death are not disclosed. For personal courage and selfless actions demonstrated in the defense of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and for his loyalty to the military oath, Taras Mykolaiovych Koval was posthumously awarded the Order of "For Courage" III degree.